Ray of Hope
by elomeno
Summary: Caspian is left broken after his Queen and wife Leah dies due to a serpent bite. However, a certain letter helps him recover


**AN- yes Im sorry for not updating my other story but I had this idea for a long time so I wrote it out. Hope you like it.**

Caspian X, King of Narnia, walked into his office with head bowed. His eyes were closed, his mouth set in a thin line and his tall frame was hunched. He depicted a man in a great sorrow.

It was a correct depiction. The king had loved his wife very much. In fact, he still loved her very much. There was no past tense. But that only served to make his grief at her absence greater.

He still remembered how she had looked when they brought her back. Her pale face, her closed eyes, her clenched hands. He had rushed to her side as soon as she had returned; having already been informed that Queen Leah had been bitten by a serpent and was in grave danger. He remembered how she had opened her eyes at the sound of his voice, how she had whispered his name though it had pained her a great deal to do so. Healers had rushed around trying to do all they could for their beloved queen, but neither the King nor his Queen had noticed. They gazed only at each other.

He remembered her last words, simple yet heart wrenching. He had tried to assure her that everything would be alright, that she must save her strength and they would make her better soon. But she knew that would not happen. She had taken a deep breath and with that determined smile he had seen her wear so often, she had whispered those three words. "I love you." There had been a tone of finality. A tone that said goodbye. He had gazed into her eyes desperately, and as both pairs met, he had seen the light leave her eyes.

How long he sat there after that, he did not know. There were blurs of movement around, voices saying things that he seemed to hear from a great distance. He sat with his wife in his arms, until the warmth left her body. Then reality had sunk in and all he felt was mind-numbing pain. He tried to deny it, no she couldn't be dead.

It couldn't be possible that he would never see her smile again; that he would never hear her laugh or her words of intelligence and warmth again; that he would never be able to gaze into her eyes again; that she would never be alive again.

And yet she was stone cold in his arms, eyes glassy and mouth closed – dead.

If he cried, he did not remember it. If anyone said anything to him, he did not answer. The pain, the sorrow, the loss was too great. He wanted to grieve alone, for he had accepted the fact that he would never see his Leah again. He wanted to leave the castle, filled with memories of her. His bed, the throne next to him, the seat at the dinner table next to him, and most importantly, his heart – all were empty.

But Caspian was a good king. And as king, he had to consider his people. So he didn't leave. He bore the pain. He knew Leah would want him to be strong; she would want him to continue on with life. So he did. The hole in his heart remained open, but he masked it during the day. He started speaking and eating again. He made conversations with friends, greeted courtiers and nobles, appeared publically again.

Today was the first day he had entered his office since _that_ day. He could not bring himself to appear in court, but he had decided to start signing the petitions and other letters that awaited him in his office.

With a sigh, he sat down at his desk, trying to dispel the sorrow and attempting to concentrate. He looked at the parchments, stacked by date. He started off with the oldest trying not to think that they were the ones he had been sorting through when he had heard the grievous news. However he stopped At the first letter itself. It was in a plain white envelope, nothing fancy but the handwriting caught his eye. It was familiar and written in light green ink. Caspian felt a lump form in his throat. He almost cried out aloud. No he was hallucinating, it couldn't be…

But it was. The pen ink and handwriting both belonged to Leah. The ink was the special one she had brought with her when she dropped into Narnia from Earth. She used it for important letters to friends and family. He pulled the letter closer, half apprehensive half curious.

He recalled the first time he had met her. She had walked into his court, behind the Great Lion Himself, looking excited and nervous and clothed in strange garments, while Aslan said that she had come to Narnia form the land of the Kings and Queens of the Golden Age and she would help the entire kingdom. It was a bit vague, but who questioned the will of Aslan? Later he realized that she had come to be his Queen and wife and thus, help the kingdom.

They had become great friends and he consulted her on all matters. She told him about her life and how she came to Narnia. She suspected that she was dead in her own world, having been burnt in a fire. She told him how she had been stuck in the lift on her way to her apartment and how the lift had got stuck and the intense heat and choking smoke and fumes. He recalled her terror and desperation and how when the lift doors finally opened, she had found herself in Narnia. Of course she had to explain what a lift was and other Earthly stuff. She had also shown him her purse, containing the ink-pens, a wallet, some bandages and a device called a camera. He and the other nobles had been very interested with all the contraptions.

Coming out of the haze of nostalgic memories, he opened the envelope and read through the letter:

_O my Husband and the Delight of my Eyes_

_(As the say in Calormen),_

_I will be dead by the time you read this letter. I do not know where I shall be but, unfortunately, I shall not be with you._

_You and I always knew that someday, we must be parted and so I ask you not to grieve over my absence. Perhaps, we shall meet again in Aslan's Country or someplace else, but until then you must be strong and brave Caspian. You vowed to be a good king and consider your people over all else. Now is the time that your commitment will be put to test. I know that wherever I am, I shall miss you and likewise, you probably shall miss me, but you cannot let that deter you from your task._

_To me, you are the greatest king Narnia ever had. You are _my_ king. And I am so proud of you, just like every Narnian out there, just like Edmund and Lucy (I did not know Peter and Susan, unfortunately), just like your parents. You put in everything you had to re-create the old Narnia and now you cannot give up. When you die (which hopefully won't be for a long time), you should die with no regrets. You should die a content man, knowing you made the most out of your life. I have tried to do so._

_Though I may not be there with you physically, I shall always be watching over you. You and our son, as well. Please tell him that I am proud of him as well. He shall make a great king one day. Tell him that my death is not his fault and that he could not have prevented it. And know this, no harm shall befall you or him, as long as you'll have faith in Aslan. He will watch over you'll and keep you'll safe, if I am unable to do so. Never lose faith in Him._

_On other matters, please take care of my heart. I left it with you. And please take care of my camera as well._

_Remember Caspian, hope, faith and beliefs are very important. And also remember that wherever I am, however far apart we are, however long it takes before we meet again, I shall always love you. _

_Lucky is the man (or woman) who is given both life and true love. But though life is always taken away sooner or later, true love remains with him for all eternity. _

_And my love for you is the truest of them all._

_Until we meet again,_

_Leah._

Caspian traced her name with his finger. The letters seemed to cut through his heart like knives, yet the pain was sweet to him. The letter brought back painful memories, broke open wounds but it also brought back strength, bravery, hope and belief. Yes, the hole in his heart was still there, it would never go until _they met again_ as Leah had said but now a small part of it had closed, had healed. The cold waves of loss still crashed down on him, cold and unyielding but the piece of paper clutched in his hand spread warmth, like a sunray. Of course, that was what it was-

A ray of hope.

Maybe a small part of his mind registered that Leah had known about her death before it actually came, but that part of his mind was ignored by the rest and did not get noticed until much later. For now, Caspian walked back out of his office, forgetting the letters at his desk.

He stood tall and proud and his eyes held pain and happiness in equal amounts. The slightest hint of a smile ghosted over his features and in his hand he clutched his ray of hope.

**AN- So for anyone who didnt get it, Leah was from Earth and she read all the Chronicles of Narnia so she knew when she was going to die. The morning before her death she wrote down this letter to give Caspian the strength to move on because she knew he would be in pain and grief and to tell him how much she loves him.**

**This story will not be continued except perhaps i might make it a twoshot. Please tell me your thoughts by pressing the review button below.**


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